VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Booster vaccination would be made mandatory for entry to public places and travel in two weeks’ time at the latest, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, has said.

A decision to this effect was made during a limited cabinet meeting chaired by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Monday.

The implementation of the policy has been prompted by the low national booster coverage of 24.55 percent as of July 4, 2022, according to the Health Ministry’s website.

In addition, based on data from the ministry’s PeduliLindungi application, out of the average of 1.9 million people who visit malls per day, only 24.6 percent have received the booster shot.

As currently, the number of additional daily COVID-19 cases has continued to increase due to the emergence of Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, the low booster vaccination coverage has become a concern.

"Hence, to encourage (people to get) booster vaccination, it will become the requirement for entry to public places, such as malls and offices, and traveling,” the coordinating minister said in a statement issued here on Monday.

Vaccination booths at airports, train stations, bus stations, and shopping centers will also be re-opened to help the public to get vaccinated, he added.

The government has also asked the military, police, and local governments to encourage the community and re-implement efforts to trace COVID-19 cases, he informed.

The efforts are being carried out as precautionary measures to prevent a spike in cases in the future.

"The government will continue to enforce the Java-Bali public activities restrictions (PPKM). The (period of the) enforcement will be determined by the results of the evaluation (meeting) led by the President," Pandjaitan, who is also the coordinator for Java-Bali PPKM enforcement, emphasized.

Furthermore, he said that community participation has been key for handling the pandemic in Indonesia so far.

"Hence, from the bottom of my heart, I ask all people who have not received the complete (second) and booster (third) vaccinations to immediately get vaccinated at the provided vaccination booths; (it is) for our common good in handling the pandemic and (encouraging) the ongoing economic recovery," he added.  (Antaranews)